Sifter for use in separating dough balls from breading

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for separating dough balls from reusable breading having a container for holding breading containing dough balls, the container having an aperture in the bottom thereof for selectably discharging the breading having dough balls co-mingled therewith, a sifter having foraminous portions positioned below the container bottom aperture and having a bottom with a central opening therein, an actuator to cause breading to be sifted through the foraminous portions, a plurality of concentric circular walls having openings therethrough arranged to cause dough balls to be separately discharged through the sifter central opening, a breading collector container below the sifter to receive breading sifted from the sifter, and a dough ball collector directly below the sifter central opening for separately receiving dough balls passing therethrough. In one embodiment the dough ball collector is removably supported within the breading collector and in another embodiment, the breading collector has an upright tubular member communicating with an opening in the bottom and in alignment with the sifter central opening and the dough ball collector is positioned below the breading collector.

This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 226,223 entitled"IMPROVED SIFTER FOR BREADING APPARATUS" filed July 29, 1988, now U.S.Pat. No. 4,862,824.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In the food industry it is a practice to prepare certain foods bydipping pieces of the food in a batter and then forming a breading onthe food by subjecting the batter covered food to a breading mixture.This method of food preparation is most frequently employed in thefrying of pieces of chicken. The pieces of chicken are first dipped in aliquid batter and then placed in breading which is primarily flour withspices and seasoning mixed with it. The pieces of chicken are tumbledmanually within the breading so that the breading adheres to the batterforming a coating on the pieces of chicken. The pieces of chicken maythen be fried such as in a pan of hot liquid grease.

In the process of breading the batter-dipped pieces of chicken, acertain amount of the liquid batter separates from the pieces of chickenand formulates dough balls in the breading mixture. These dough ballstend to grow in size as the mixture is being used. The dough ballsconstitute a non-usable by-product of the process of breading pieces ofchicken. Any breading remaining in the container after the breadingprocess is completed can be reused; however, before the breading can beused the dough balls must be separated from it.

For this reason sifters have been developed for sifting the breading toremove the dough balls. For reference to prior issued patents whichprovide sifters for use in breading operations, reference may be had toU.S. Pat. Nos. 3,910,227; 4,182,260 and 4,550,677. These three priorissued U.S. Patents are incorporated herein by reference.

Each of these prior issued patents demonstrate improvements in apparatusfor breading pieces of chicken. Patents 3,910,277 and 4,182,260 aredirected toward improved sifters wherein the dough balls remain in thsifters and must be removed from the sifters by lifting the siftermechanism out of the breading machine and dumping the dough balls.Patent 4,550,677 shows a means of sifting wherein the dough balls areseparated from the breading and separately discharged. In thislast-mentioned patent, the dough balls travel down a chute extending atan angle relative to the sifter. A substantial structure for conductingthe sifted breading to a container below the sifter is required since itmust provide means for passage of the angularly-shaped dough ballconduit out the sidewalls of the structure. This system is inconvenientto use and requires an increased number of parts which must be washedand sanitized.

The present invention is directed toward an improvement in the breadersand sifters as shown in these previously issued U.S. Patents. In thepresent improved breading apparatus, a breading container is providedfor holding breading which, in the process of breading, will accumulatedough balls therein. The breading container has an opening in the bottomfor selectably discharging breading having dough balls co-mingled. Inthetypical operation, after the breading procedure has been completedand a sufficient amount of dough balls have accumulated in the breading,the operator uncovers the aperture in the bottom and allows the breadingand dough ball mixture therein to pass through the aperture downwardlythrough the opening.

Below the opening is a sifter having foraminous cylindrical sidewallsand a foraminous bottom. The sifter is positioned directly below theaperture in the breading container so that breading having dough ballsco-mingled therethrough pass directly into the sifter. The sifter has alabyrinth path arrangement in the bottom which communicates with acentral bottom opening. As the sifter is actuated by sequentialoscillation back and forth around a vertical axis, the breading iscaused to pass through the walls and through the bottom of the sifterwhereas the dough balls pass through the labyrinth path and through thebottom central opening. The dough balls are discharged into a separatedough ball collector which is positioned directly below the siftercentral opening.

In one embodiment the dough ball collector is positioned within thebreading collector, both of which are positioned directly below thesifter. In a second embodiment, the breading collector has a bottom withan opening therein and an upright tubular conduit communicating with theopening. The tubular conduit is in alignment with the sifter centralopening so that dough balls passing through the sifter central openingpass downwardly through the upright tubular conduit. The dough ballcollector is positioned below the breading collector and directly belowthe upright tubular conduit to collect the dough balls passing throughit.

A better understanding of the invention will be had with reference tothe following description and claims, taken in conjunction with theattached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an aperture which employs theprinciples of this disclosure, shown partially cut away in the lowerportion and some of the internal portions being shown in dotted outline.

FIG. 2 is an elevational cross-sectional view taken along the line of2--2 of FIG. 1, showing internal mechanisms of the breading apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken in three differentplanes along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2, showing a downwardly looking viewof mechanisms making up the improved breading apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the breading collectorwith the dough ball collector supported therein.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged scale, elevational cross-sectional view of oneembodiment of the sifter mechanism which includes means for causing thebreading to be discharged through the sidewalls and bottom of the sifterand in which the dough balls intermixed with the breading are separatedand passed through a bottom central opening.

FIG. 6 is an exploded isometric view of the sifter mechanism as shown inFIG. 5

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view taken along the line of 7--7 of FIG. 5 ofthe mechanism for coupling the oscillator shaft to the sifter basket.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the fragmentary view of FIG. 7, showing themeans of retaining the oscillator shaft to the sifter basket.

FIG. 9 is the same view as FIG. 8, but showing the latching mechanism inthe open position.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view showing the sifter basket separated from theoscillator arm.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the oscillating rod after the basket isseparated therefrom as taken along the line 11--11 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an elevational end view of an alternate embodiment of theinvention. FIG. 12 shows a portion of the breading collector partiallycut away and showing the sifter and portions of the breading containerin dotted outline.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 13--13 of FIG.12, showing the arrangement of the breading collector.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged scale, cross-sectional view of the sifter basketshowing an alternate embodiment of the dough ball separator mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the dough ball separator mechanismas taken along the line 15--15 of FIG. 14, showing the method ofcreating a labyrinth path for the dough balls to pass therethrough.

FIG. 16 is an isometric view showing the collector tray which is placedbeneath the sifter oscillator mechanism for collecting any breadingwhich inadvertently passes from the area of the sifter into themechanical compartment of the breader.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, and first to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the elementsmaking up the breader of this invention are shown in a first embodiment.The breader is indicated generally by the numeral 10 and includes atable 12 with legs 14 supporting it. The table has an opening thereinreceiving a first container 16 which is also referred to as breadingcontainer. The breading container 16 as shown in FIG. 2, has an opening18 therein in the bottom having a removable closure. Shown in thebreading container is breading material 22 which is primarily made up offlour with spices and seasonings. During the process of breading battercovered pieces of chicken (not shown), dough balls 24 are formed in thebreading. The purpose of this breader device is, first to provide aconvenient location for the breading operation--that is, for the supportof breading container 16; and second, after dough balls are formed inthe breading, to provide a means of separating the remaining dough ballsso that the breading material may be reused.

Positioned below the breading container 16 is a sifter 26. The sifterhas a cylindrical foraminous sidewall 28 and a foraminous tapered bottom30. As shown in FIG. 5, the sifter includes a tubular portion 32communicating with a central opening 34 in the bottom of the sifter. Thetubular portion 32 forms a pivotal member around which the sifter isoscillated. A plastic sleeve 36 surrounds the tubular portion 32 and inturn is supported by a collar 38 which is held to the table bystructural members 40, as shown in FIG. 2. The plastic sleeve serves asa bearing.

To separate the dough balls 24 from the breading 22 the closure 20 isremoved allowing the breading and co-mingled dough balls to passdownwardly into the sifter 26. In FIG. 2, the method of oscillating thesifter is best illustrated. A motor 42 drives a shaft 44 having a sheave46 thereon which, by means of belt 48, rotates a second sheave 50attached to spindle 52. The spindle 52 is rotatably supported by abearing block 54. At the other end of spindle 52 a crank arm 56 isaffixed. The crank arm includes a counterweight portion as best seen inFIG. 3.

Extending from the crank arm is a pin 58. Received on the pin is abearing 60 and a connecting rod 62. The other end of the connecting rodhas a coupling member 64 which removably attaches to a pin 66 extendingfrom the lower outer portion of the sifter basket 26.

It can be seen that when motor 42 is energized the rotation of crank arm56 oscillates connecting rod 52 and thereby reciprocally oscillatessifter basket 26 about a vertical axis which passes central through thebasket tubular portion 34.

FIGS. 7 through 11 show the details of the preferred embodiment forattaching the connecting rod 62 to pin 66 extending from the sifterbasket 26. Affixed to the outer end of the connecting rod is a collar 68having an opening 70 therein. Pin 66 is received in the opening 70.Slideably received upon the connecting rod is the coupling member 64. Asshown in FIG. 9, the coupling member has a slot with an enlargedcircular opening 72 which, when the slot is expanded, permits theopening to releasably engage pin 66. The pin is provided with a reduceddiameter circumferential groove 74 as shown in FIG. 10 which receivesthe opening 72 in the coupling member. When the coupling member is slidin a direction away from pin 66, the pin may be removed from engagementwith the connecting rod 62. Since the sifter tubular portion 32 isslideably received within the plastic bearing 36, by moving the couplingmember 64 the entire basket 26 may be easily removed for cleaning.

Referring again to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the underneath of table10 is divided basically into two portions. The first portion includesthe breading container 16 and the sifter 26 and is separated from theother portion by a wall 76. Since breading passes downwardly within theinterior of the table containing the sifter portion, the function ofwall 76 is to separate the oscillation mechanism from the areacontaining breading. In order to permit transfer of reciprocal energy tothe sifter, a small slot 78 is provided in wall 76 through which theconnecting rod 62 passes. Some breading will inevitably migrate throughthis small slot. For this purpose, a tray 80 is slideably positioneddirectly below the crank arm 56 and in communication with the opening78. The tray serves to collect any breading which might migrate throughthe opening 78. To ensure that the tray 80 is in position before motor42 may be energized, a microswitch 82 is positioned so that it isactuated when the tray is in position and non-actuated when the tray isout of position. FIG. 16 shows an isometric view of the tray 80 and theopening 78 in the wall 76. FIG. 6 does not show the crank arm nor theconnecting rod. The specific means of retaining the tray 80 in positionto receive breading passing through opening 78 may vary compared to theillustrated arrangement.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the mechanism for separating the dough ballsfrom the breading is shown. Extending upwardly from the sifter baskettubular portion 72 is a non-circular retention member formed as bracket84. Received on the bracket in a preselected rotational orientation arethree inverted, concentric cup-shaped members 86, 88 and 90. The membersvary in diameters and are concentrically stacked with the smallest onthe bottom and the largest on the top. Members 86 and 88 havenon-circular openings 92 and 94, respectively, which receive bracket 84in a non-rotatable manner.

Each of the inverted cup-shaped members 86, 88 and 90 includes a topenclosing wall portion and a downwardly extending cylindrical side wallportion. The cup-shaped members are stacked in such a manner that thetop wall portions of adjacent members are in abutting engagement.Specifically, first cup-shaped member 86 has a top 86A and a downwardlyextending cylindrical wall 86B. In like manner, intermediate cup-shapedmember 88 has a top 88A and cylindrical wall 88B; and member 90 has atop 90A and a cylindrical wall 90B. Each of the walls 86B, 88B and 90Bhas at least one notched opening 96 therein. The inverted cup-shapedmembers are arranged so that the openings 96 are not in alignment, butare offset from each other thereby creating a labyrinth path throughwhich dough balls must travel to reach central openings 34.

Affixed to the top 90A of the uppermost inverted cup-shaped member is adownwardly extending hook 98 which is retained in an upwardly biasedposition by a spring 100. Encompassing the spring are telescopingmembers 102 and 104 with member 104 being attached to the upward end ofhood 98. When the upper telescoping member 104 is pressed downwardlyagainst the resistance of spring 100, the hook 98 may be rotated todisengage it from a slight opening in 105 in the top of bracket 84. Thehook 98, spring 100, and telescoping members 102 and 104 serve as meansto removably retain the cup-shaped members on the retention member,bracket 84. In this manner, the inverted cup-shaped members 86, 88 and90 may be secured to or removed from within the interior of sifterbasket 24.

As shown in FIG. 6, the sifter basket bottom 30 is preferably removablefrom the basket sidewall portion 28 and, to support the tubular portion32 to the sidewall portion 28 and legs 106, are employed.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, positioned directly below the sifter26 is a second container or breading receptor 108. The breading receptor108 may be identical in size to the breading container 16, and it has anopening in the bottom with a cover 20A. As breading passes downwardlythrough the foraminous portions of sifter 26, it passes into thebreading receptor 108. After all of the breading has been dischargedfrom the breading container 16 and has passed through the sifter 26, thebreading receptor 108 may be removed and exchanged in position with thebreading container 16.

The breading receptor 108 may be supported in position by a variety ofmeans. In the illustrated arrangement, channels 110 receive the outeredges of the container and support it in position below the sifter.

To receive the dough balls which are separately discharged from thesifter, a third container or dough ball collector 112 is employed. Thedough ball collector 112 is of smaller dimensions than the breadingcollector 108 and is removably supported within the breading collectoras best shown in FIG. 4. A bracket member 114 extends across thebreading collector 104 to engage the upper lips thereof by means ofangle members 116. Affixed to stretchers 118 extending between the anglemembers 116 are channels 120 which slideably receive the upper edge 112Aof dough ball collector 112.

Positioned on top of the stringer 118 is a dome 122 having a centralopening 124 therein. The dome fits directly beneath the sifter tubularportion 32 so that dough balls passing from the sifter pass directlydownward through opening 124 into dough ball collector 112 whilebreading which passes from the sifter foraminous portions is directedinto the interior of the breading collector 108.

After the breading collector 108 has been removed and before it isinterchanged with breading container 16, the bracket 114 is removed andplaced in the pan which is to be positioned beneath the sifter. Doughballs within dough ball collector 112 are first discharged.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an alternate embodiment and some ways, a preferredembodiment of the invention. The table 10, the breading container 16,the sifter 26 and the mechanism for reciprocally oscillating the sifterare not shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, all of which are identical orsubstantially identical to that shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. The breadingreceptor identified as numeral 108 in FIGS. 1 through 4, however, isdifferent and is identified by the numeral 126 in FIGS. 12 and 13. Thebreading receptor 126 in FIGS. 12 and 13 has a central opening 128 inthe bottom and a tubular member 130 extending upwardly from the opening.The upper end 130A of the tubular portion 130 is, when the breadingreceptor 126 is in position, directly below and in alignment with theopening 34 in the bottom of sifter 26 so that dough balls separated bysifter 126 pass downwardly through the tubular portion 130 whilebreading which is sifted from the sifter sidewall and bottom portionspass into the interior of the breading receptor and exteriorly of thetubular portion 130. Dough ball collector 132 is supported below thebreading receptor 126 and directly below the opening 128 therein so thatdough balls passing downwardly pass into the dough ball receptor 132.

Thus, in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13 the breading container 16 andthe breading receptor 26 are not intended to be interchangeable. When aquantity of breading has been accumulated within breading receptor 126,it is removed and the contents thereof can be dumped back into thebreading container 16. Dough balls can be removed from dough ballcollector 132 as necessary. It can be seen that the dough ball collectorpan 132 is slideably supported on brackets 134, however, this isexemplary only as it may be supported in a variety of ways.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show an alternate embodiment of the dough ball separatorwithin sifter 26. In the arrangement of FIGS. 14 and 15 bracket 84A isslightly shorter and three inverted cup-shaped members 136, 138 and 140are all provided with flat tops and with downwardly extendingcylindrical walls. Affixed to bracket 84A are pins 142 which extendupwardly through openings formed in the inverted cup-shaped member flattop portions. This keeps the inverted cup-shaped members in alignment sothat the notch openings 144 are properly oriented. Further, it can beseen that the pins 142 may be used to limit the downward position of theinverted cup-shaped members so that the lower edges of the cylindricalportions thereof do not engage sifter bottom 30. In the arrangement ofFIGS. 14 and 15 the inverted cup-shaped members 136, 138 and 140 may beseparately formed as illustrated, or they can be integrally formed asone element.

The claims and the specification describe the invention presented andthe terms that are employed in the claims draw their meaning from theuse of such terms in the specification. The same terms employed in theprior art may be broader in meaning than specifically employed herein.Whenever there is a question between the broader definition of suchterms used in the prior art and the more specific use of the termsherein, the more specific meaning is meant.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity it is manifest that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arrangement of components withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understoodthat the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth hereinfor purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scopeof the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalencyto which each element thereof is entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sifter for use in separating dough balls frombreading comprising:a sifter basket having a foraminous portion throughwhich breading but not dough balls can pass and having a bottom with acentral opening therein of a size which permits the passage of doughballs therethrough; a plurality of inverted cup shaped members eachhaving an enclosing top wall portion and a circumferential downwardlyextending side wall and each side wall having at least one notchedopening therein, the inverted cup-shaped members being of differentdiameters and concentrically arranged upon one another in a stackedarray with the top wall portions of adjacent cup-shaped members being inabutting engagement and the smallest diameter cup-shaped member on thebottom and the largest diameter cup-shaped member on top; means toremoveably retain said inverted cup-shaped members in the stacked arrayadjacent said sifter basket bottom thereby providing a labyrinth pathbetween an outermost surface of the side wall of the largest diametercup-shaped member and the interior of the smallest diameter inverted cupshaped member through which dough balls pass to reach said centralopening; and means to vibrate said basket to cause breading to be siftedtherefrom.
 2. A sifter according to claim 1 including means to maintaina preselected rotational orientation of said inverted cup-shapedmembers.
 3. A sifter according to claim 1including:a retention memberaffixed to said vessel bottom and extending uprightly therefrom, atleast some of said inverted cup-shaped members having a second openingin said top portion receiving said retention member.
 4. A sifteraccording to claim 3 wherein said retention member is non-circular incross-section and wherein said second opening in said invertedcup-shaped members are non-circular and non-rotatably receive saidretention member.
 5. A sifter according to claim 3 wherein said means toremoveably retain said inverted cup-shaped members in the stacked arrayon said retention member includes spring biased means removeably securedto said retention member.